Hanslope Park seeks apprentices to aid national security

Hanslope Park is located on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, close to Bletchley Park

The secretive Foreign Office site at Hanslope Park is looking for future engineers and scientists as part of National Apprenticeship week.

About 200 students from nearby schools attended the event at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, to learn about the work involved.

They visited from six schools and colleges in the Milton Keynes area.

The students had an opportunity to try out listening devices, anti-drone technology and much more.

They also heard about apprenticeship opportunities at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Services (FCDO), the National Authority for Counter-Eavesdropping and HM Government Communications Centre (HMGCC).

Current apprentices, who cannot be named for security reasons, told students they really enjoy the travel involved in the job.

They said that apprenticeships offer better hands on experience than universities because the work is fast paced and varied and you are not stuck behind a desk.

Students attending the event learnt about technology such as listening devices and anti-drone technology

Yvonne Laird, the chief of operations for FCDO Services, which provides IT, logistics and engineering support for the Foreign Office, said it had been an amazing event.

She said the benefit of the work is the "excitement of following a discipline that you are personally interested in… whilst making a difference."

George Williamson, the chief executive of engineering specialists HMGCC, said they "need the talent that sits in our schools to come and help us with our national security".

He said there is no one type of person who works for them; they need a passion for technology, an interest in keeping the country safe, and love building or designing things.

He revealed apprentices tell them they are so glad they have come and done something with real purpose.

Jonathan Pilling is the director of regional services for FCDO Services said apprentices "push us forward all the time, challenge our thinking and really help us move ourselves forward as an organisation."